Luke Poulter, son of Ian, got to hold the trophy after his dad competed in his first Ryder Cup back in 2004

But that was not the full story. Poulter explained: “It’s every special having Luke here - he was on the plane when I played my first Ryder Cup 14 years ago.

“There was a lovely picture on the front of a magazine back then when he was asleep cuddling the trophy.

“Actually, Sergio was leaning over the back of his chair, and he was kind of just touching the trophy and the lid fell off and smacked Luke on the head, which woke him up.

“It’s great to be able to bring him her this time around, where he fully understands it; he understands golf now as a young man at 14, and as the excitable character he is – the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

“He wants to be in the action. It was nice that on Monday I could take him in the team room, the locker room, show him around the surroundings

“I'm not going to get to see a lot of him now. He stayed with us Sunday night when we arrived, but now he's with my mum and my dad in the family hotel.

“So I won’t be able to spend much more time with him, but I hope he's going to have a fantastic week. I know he's going to. And it would be very special to share that trophy with him again.”

And Poulter has promised him that it will not be the last one he will get to go see in Europe

The man who inspired the Miracle at Medinah four years ago said the special buzz surrounding the European team never gets old.

“I'm more excited today than I was in 2004, if that's possible,” he said.

“And trust me, this won’t be my last Ryder Cup, or even my last one in Europe. I would like to think I've got more in me; I really do.

“I think how I've played this year is hopefully the start of me kicking forward again to play in some more. I don't want to think that this is my last hurrah.

“I would like to be part of Team Europe moving forward, and I would like to play some more. It's that special, even though it's a daunting week in many ways.

“That stand around the first tee stand, I went out there yesterday to have a little look from the top, and it's pretty big. When I think back to 2004, the stand is nothing like what we have today.

“So hitting that first tee shot there on Friday, it really is going to be quite a special moment, and it's going to be very interesting to see.”

Ian Poulter celebrates after winning Houston Open to clinch a place at the Masters

Poulter grinned broadly when he was told that a straw poll among the American players showed he was still the European player they most wanted to beat.

He added: “Funny that! I take it as a huge compliment, I think, more than anything else. It's a daunting position to be in to know that everyone really wants to take you down, but quite frankly, I want to take them down just as much.

“That's why this week is so special. You can be good friends week in, week out, but when it comes to The Ryder Cup, there's something extra there. It means so much to want to win as a team – and to feel like you have to win for your team-mates.”